A Loving Change
by Ai Star
Summary: A change in time could always cause a alter everything, no matter how big or small the change is. What if Tom Riddle was found earlier before he could grow up to become the Dark Wizard ever known. One Shot


**Hiya I hope you are all okay,**

**Just had a spark of inspiration to do this one shot. Not sure If I will do a two shot but for now it's something I've come up with.**

* * *

"Let's have a chat shall we?" a woman said as she sat down on what looked like a worn couch, looking up she watched a dark eyed woman wearing semi dull clothes despite living in what seemed to be a happy house.

"What about?" the dark eyed asked in surprise as she sat opposite the woman, the woman sitting on the couch had black hair that was short enough to give her a boyish look. Her eyes were brown and contain flecks of red that showed various expressions as they stared back at her, despite being intimidated the dark eyed woman could feel a sense of peace just from being near the woman which worried and calmed her. The woman also wore a white floral dress with white flats that made her look graceful as she walked.

Staring at the dark eyed woman the brownish red eyed woman smiled softly before sighing heavily.

"Merope… how long are you going to put yourself through this farce?" The woman asked the dark eyed woman with sad eyes, eyes that showed to Merope pity which made her feel angry. "I'm not pitying you" the woman said calmly shocking Merope deeply.

"H-How did you-?"

"Know what you're thinking?" the woman smiled kindly before folding her hands on her lap "I'm a psychic, one who travelled here because of what I would call… sympathy" the woman added calmly before training her eyes to look at the startled Merope.

"Sympathy?" Merope asked sounding very cautious and unsure on what the woman meant. Sighing again but more softly the woman looked at Merope with sadder eyes that made Merope blink.

"Your son… or should I say your unborn son and you, your misfortune if you continue this farce. What will happen if you release Tom from the spell, it will all end in disaster. Your son will grow up hating his parents and killing his father" the woman explained, feeling sad for the woman who's life was now going to be damaged beyond repair. Merope's eyes went wide in horror, no words left her now parted lips as she was left not knowing what to say and do. This had to be a joke!

"I wish it was Merope but it is not… it is inevitable" the woman spoke in a defeated voice.

"Then what are you here?! To spite me?" Merope screamed in frustration only to stop as she saw the woman stare at her with kind eyes. It made her sick and angry that this woman would come and ruin everything. She had just got away from her father and brother, now she was being told this- this news!

"Like I said, sympathy" the woman replied before getting up and went to sit beside a reluctant Merope who tried to pry her away from her.

"Don't touch me!" Merope's voice shook as she stared at the woman who's expression didn't waver.

"Merope… I'm here to help you, yes removing the spell sets him free but you know he was never yours. Why put yourself through this pain over and over again? You're lucky to still be alive, what if his love hunts you down? What if your family comes and tries to take you back? Can you live with what will happen to your son? So many people will suffer and I know this is harsh, it's cruel to put this on you but actions have consequences…" the woman looked down with tear filled eyes that surprise "I lost my big sister, her husband… they left behind a son who has only myself and a small community of friends to look after him" the woman said in a semi shaking voice, Merope as she heard this felt her heart clench in shock. "My friends are dead because of your son and his actions. So please… if you have any love for your son, for you, for Tom. You will help me change the future, please Merope? If you are afraid of being alone then don't" the woman said with a softy smile despite feeling her heart weeping from the raw pain of seeing her sister and brother in law lying dead in the school hall. Merope as she listened bit the inside of her cheek, squeezing the woman's hands slightly she released a tiny sigh.

"You can save my son?" the woman looked up at Merope in disbelief.

"Of course! As a mother I know how scary it will be to raise a child, you are not alone Merope. Regardless of dispelling your husband I am going to be with you every step of the way, you and your son will never be alone, my husband and I will make sure of that" the woman said with a shaky smile only to pause as she heard a sob leave Merope's lips. Tears start to run down the broken woman's eyes causing Merope to cover her face with her hands, seeing this the woman smiled at Merope and pulled her into a tight hug.

"You are not alone, I promise" the woman said kindly as she gently rocked Merope side to side before humming a soft tune, gripping the sleeves of the woman's shirt Merope released broken wails for a while until she fell straight to sleep due to losing energy to stay awake.

* * *

"Thank you… thank you for being there, I don't know what to say" Merope said as she held a cream bundle in her frail arms, the woman smiled softly as she sat beside the pair in a hospital room.

"Hang in there, that's all I can ask of you" the woman said causing Merope to release streams of happy tears, tears that made the woman feel sad but happy that they were able to make it through the tough agonizing months. As expected Tom had left Merope leaving her alone while she carried his child however instead of being completely broken and alone Merope had chosen to stay with the woman's family and was surprised to see a small family waiting for her. Two children- twins had silvery white hair but brownish red eyes that gleamed with joy as they saw Merope. Almost as if they knew who she was but were happy to see her regardless, just seeing this almost broke Merope as she had never seen this much genuine joy being directed at her. Being with the family encouraged Merope to take care of herself and her unborn son who she found more tidbits about, despite hearing bad things Merope had only one thing in mind to help her son be free from the dark destiny that would open it's doors out for him. Something that encouraged her to hold on until he was born, but now after the intense labor did she now grow weak. It had only been a miracle that she held on and she could feel her energy continue to fall with each passing minute.

"I… I don't think I can" Merope said in a faint voice as she looked up at the woman who's eyes went wide in shock, soon the woman's eyes grey dim as she nodded slowly before looking at the sleeping bundle.

"It's time… you don't have many minutes left. I'm sorry, I wish I could have done more" the woman said weakly only to see Merope's eyes twinkle with joy.

"You did more than anyone else would have done for me, I don't know what to say. I know that I cannot thank you enough but I now have to ask you for one last selfish request" Merope said as her arms started to grow weaker, looking at the infant in Merope's arms the woman nodded faintly before taking him in her arms in order to give his mother rest.

"I understand, do not think of this as a selfish request. Friends help each other no matter what and this time I will make sure he is knows that he is loved, that his mother loved him more than life itself. She was strong despite having things being against her and clung on until he was brought into this world. I promise you Merope no one is going to hurt your son again, no orphanage will ever claim him" the woman said with a slight sniffle, holding the infant closer her eyes started to water as she saw Merope close her eyes slowly.

"That's… good" Merope said faintly before breathing her last breath, stunned but saddened the woman looked at the sleeping infant feeling her heart go out to him.

"Is she?" the woman turned to see a young man with black hair and black eyes standing by the door, his skin was deathly pale despite being healthy. He wore a black jacket over his black shirt, he wore a pair of black trousers and shoes. Looking at the woman she closed her eyes and shook her head slowly.

"She died peacefully, she didn't need to ask us to look after her son" she said as he approached her and knelt down to see the sleeping bundle.

"So this is Tom? The one people will grow to fear?" the man asked before smiling. "Doesn't look all that scary" he smirked causing her to scoff and shake her head at him.

"Funny… now can we get him checked out, I want to give her a proper burial" the woman said dryly as he rolled his eyes at her.

"Come on, the sooner we get him checked the sooner he can come home" the male said causing her to smile softly.

"Thanks Sy" she said causing him to smile

"Anytime Marine" The pair looked at Merope's sleeping form before calling a nurse to help them get Merope cleaned up. Watching Merope's retreating form the pair grew sombre until they heard an infant fussing, looking down they saw the infant whining to their amusement.

"It's a good thing I'm almost due Syrus" Marine muttered with a weak smile as she felt two sets of kicking in her belly, feeling his hand she looked at him weakly.

"Time to get you prepped…" he muttered causing Marine to gawk at him.

"Excuse me!" she hissed before going after his retreating figure in anger, just seeing this earned her a laugh from her husband. "Get back here so I can kick you!"

"Try to catch me first, that is if you can waddle fast enough" he joked.

"Okay that's it where's that stick?" she muttered earning her a laugh from Syrus once again.

* * *

Marine and Syrus stood over a newly made grave belonging to Merope Riddle, in Syrus' arms were a pair of sleeping twins that were fast asleep. In Marine's arms was a four month old Tom who was cooing in her arms.

"Hey Merope, I hope you like the small shrine we made for you. It's not much but we can visit you anytime since it's close by" Marine said with a soft smile as Syrus stood closer towards her. Tom as he was watching the grave continued to put a string that was attached to Marine's dress, seeing this from the corner of her eye she chuckled before kissing the top of a now surprised Tom's head.

"He's going to be a troublemaker in the future I know it" Syrus muttered with a smirk causing Marine to raise a brow.

"Oh? And Sakura's not going to be enough trouble for us a it is?" Marine challenged causing the pair to look at their sleeping baby girl who had a tuff of black hair, beside her on the other arm was her twin brother who had dark blue hair.

"I just hope Eli can take her mischief" he muttered weakly earning her a smile.

"He will have no choice, now come along I think the twins will wake up to feed soon and I don't want to be in the open" she said as she bided Merope's grave a final farewell, while walking away she paused to see something in the distance. Someone who made her smile warmly as she recognized who it was.

"_He's in good hands Albus, you can be sure of that_" Marine winked as she watched the elderly man nod from where he stood, beside him was a young boy with round glasses and a thunderbolt scar on his forehead. Despite looking surprised the boy smiled and waved before the pair vanished leaving Marine to smile softly knowing that she had their support.

"Was that Harry and Professor Dumbledore?" Syrus asked with a curious look, hearing his voice she turned to look at him with a smile.

"You better believe it, now let's go Tom's drooling on me again" Marine chuckled at him.

"Hmm, must be his favourite chew toy-OW!" Syrus winced as she kicked his leg.

"Lay off!" Marine snapped before walking away.

"Hey I'm only joking Marine, why do you need to get violent on me?" he asked looking slightly annoyed causing Marine to raise a brow.

"Did it stop you when we were younger?" Marine challenged, this made him go silent.

"Nope… sorry" he muttered as he looked away weakly, sighing Marine looked at her adopted son with a weak smile.

"This is what you're going to be living with, I hope you're prepared because once you grow up in this made house you might end up wishing you had a crash helmet… and a bib" Marine muttered earning her a small smile from Tom, seeing this the parents smiled warmly.

"Do you think he understood what you said?" Syrus asked softly not seeing Marine frown at him.

"Do you think he understands the concepts of you shutting up if you don't want to live in the dog house?"

"Do not bring that up!" Syrus warned weakly "besides I was actually being curious" he added as he saw her smiling.

"I know, it's just funny that we still bicker and banter once in a while" Marine said while he frowned at her.

"Huh… somehow I wish that I could go back in time to stop myself from shoving you to the ground so many times" Syrus muttered.

"Yeah… would have saved me money on hospital bills, then again you did earn that shiner afterwards" Marine commented earning her a laugh from Syrus.

"Yeah yeah… my bad" he said while a butterfly flew past him and went straight onto the bouquet of flowers they couple left behind. Soon a spirit appeared holding a ghostly version of the bouquet, her dark eyes glistened with joy as she watched the family walking back to their home with smiles in their faces.

"_Thank you Marine… please watch over Tom for me_" Merope said softly before vanishing completely.

* * *

Years past by and soon Tom who was now eleven could be seen sitting at a kitchen desk located in a modest home, currently on the table he silently read a book about mythical creatures before seeing a black haired girl skipping into the kitchen from the corner of his eye. Spying a green apple on the table the girl grabbed it before going to sink to wash the fruit, once done did she start to take a bite of it.

"Hi Tom!" the girl said cheerfully causing the black haired boy to look at her briefly.

"Good afternoon Sakura" Tom said with a small smile as she skipped towards where he sat. "How are you today?" he asked feeling happy to see the girl given that they had school earlier that day.

"Not too bad, school was tough and Eli was getting bullied again. What about you? I heard that you're going to a special school?" Sakura asked now looking excited, however to her surprise Tom refused to smile. Instead he looked down with a withered look which made the smile leave her face completely.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to see a magic school?" Sakura asked as she tilted her head with a confused look.

"What if people call me a freak?" Tom asked weakly causing her to blink rapidly before a giggle left her lips.

"Come on Tom! You know my family speaks to animals… strangely enough dragons and werewolves" Sakura muttered the last bit softly as she saw his dismayed look "this is nothing! So what if people think that's weird you're you! And that's all that matters so ditch them! Real friends stick together all right? And if you ever get lonely you can always speak to us remember?" Sakura said with a warm smile as she held his hand.

"We're just an owl away or something, think of this way life is a journey. You can do what you want with magic or learn new things that don't have to be magic based"

"That's the thing…" Tom said meekly "my ancestor Salazar Slytherin helped make the school but hated muggle born children, what if I get put into his group and go bad?" Sakura as she heard this smiled before hugging his reluctant form.

"Tommy! You are who you chose to be! Both our mummy and your birth mummy want you to be free to chose your own fate, unlike the other you. You have us remember? So don't think that you are ever alone" Sakura said with a wide smile that left him staring at her in awe. Soon Tom's face started to burn as he looked down shyly.

"I forgot, s-sorry" he said earning him a giggle.

"That's okay Tommy, just remember to write at least five times a week. I want to hear about all the things at your school" Sakura grinned causing his face to go red to her confusion. "Um… are you getting a fever?" she asked while looking at him with baffled eyes.

"Okay Sakura stop teasing your brother, Tom we need to get your stuff ready for tomorrow" Marine chuckled as she approached the pair, soon Sakura whined loudly to Marine's amusement.

"Muuum! I am not teasing! His face is red" Sakura cried to his dismay, seeing the slight red cheeks caused Marine to giggle.

"Okay you go do your homework or you won't be able to see Tom off" Marine said with a sly smile as Sakura rushed out the room.

"See you Tom!" Sakura hollered as she ran up the steps ignoring her yelping father who had to jump to one side of the stairs to avoid being run over.

"And no reading your brother's thoughts!" Marine hollered from the door earning her a loud groan from Sakura.

"MUM!" Sakura yelled as she slammed the door shut, after hearing the door Marine giggled loudly before turning to look at a now stunned Tom.

"Don't think I don't recognise that look, your father had that dopy look when we were younger" Marine spoke in a sly voice as she went to sit down after getting warm drinks over to her and Tom, taking it with a grateful look Tom observed the warm chocolate milk with a pensive look.

"Don't worry about school, Professor Dumbledore is an amazing headmaster. Any issues if you can't reach us he'll be the best person to speak to" Marine said as she placed a hand on his back.

"But… what if I go bad like my ancestor? What if I get picked in Slytherin? I don't want to be a bad person" Tom murmured causing her to smile softly.

"Fear can consume you, or it can be something that helps you along the road. Don't let it bother you, as long as you stay true to yourself you'll be fine and I believe in you. We all do" Marine said with an assuring smile. Blinking Tom felt his shoulders droop.

"But still…

"Look Tom, no matter what house you end up in there will always be bad eggs. Slytherin is just a house, you can make your house however you would ever want it be. Just make the effort and do your best because that's all we can ever ask. As of Salazar- stuff him" she said with a wink as she smiled at his shocked expression. "He can huff and groan all he likes but! There are really nice muggles just as there are bad witches and wizards, if he keeps the vendetta through his line then he really will never learn. Let's not forget you're living with muggles, are we bad? Are we a weak species?" Marine asked with a warm grin that had him shaking his head.

"Well there you go, you know love, you know joy and that comes from having a family" Tom's eyes soften as he looks down at their hands, leaning his head on her arm he relaxed "now I don't know Salazar's upbringing but I doubt he had many who were willing to be with him for him, however! That doesn't mean you can't learn from his mistakes. Everyone is flawed, but we all have something to live for and if we don't then find something worth while. I did hear on the other hand that he kept a snake in the school, just be careful with where you let it out" she winked at his now flushed face.

"I… I wouldn't dream of letting it out, if it is what I think it is" Tom muttered faintly before hearing her chuckle softly, a soft smile formed on his face as she strokes his head lightly.

"Good, I doubt I would want to see you coming home in a body bag" she muttered causing them and Syrus who had just entered the room to laugh weakly.

"Please do not do that" Syrus pleaded earning him a withered look from Tom.

"I promise" he vowed before looking at his parents, strange that even after being told the truth years ago and being told the story of how his mother met his birth mother caused his heart to ache in sadness. Knowing that his mother had lost so much and endured things that he could only dream of, however knowing that in the end his adoptive mother could bring some closure to the distressed woman gave Tom a feeling that his mother's presence had never truly left. Every day he could almost see his mother and birth mother in the same room smiling, almost as they were looking at the other, laughing at something. It was almost as if he was reliving a memory or something and whether it was not, he cherished the happy moments his family had brought him while he in turn tried to give back and more. Something that caused the love in the family to grow and grow, even now as he was being prepped to go to this new school called Hogwarts it filled him with fear and excitement knowing that he could learn magic. Despite whatever would fall before him Tom continued to try and be brave, knowing that he had people who would support him no matter what and that as he stood on Platform Nine and Three Quarters with his family gave him the push he needed to brave the new world his birth mother had left for him.

"See you later Mum, see you dad" Tom smiled feeling more brave as he stared at his elder and younger siblings. Tom even as he looked at Eli hiding behind their mother felt a smile growing on his face as things would never change, not that he would ever want it to.

"See you Tommy!" Sakura smiled as she hugged Tom before parting so their elder siblings could hug Tom as well.

"Stay strong Tom" the elder sister who had long silvery white hair that was in a braid winked as she gave him a wide smile, Tom as he heard this nodded while he looked at her twin.

"Don't be afraid to ask the teachers for help" the brother said, his brownish red eyes shone playfully as Tom nodded in reply until they heard the whistle.

"Hurry now" Marine said as she urged Tom who was holding a cage containing a silvery white owl and trunk to head into the train.

"Bye everyone!" Tom called before going inside, once he placed his items away in the compartment did the tired boy sit down. As he watched the platform slowly vanish Tom's heart started to panic due to being aware that he was going to be away from his family for a while, only as he looked at what was in his pocket did he smile. All fear vanished as he saw the golden locket containing a green snake in the middle of it, something his birth mother had given him before her untimely death. Soon after touching the clip part of the locket did he opened it, Tom's eyes started to well up as he saw images of his parents and siblings on both sides of the inner shell. His thumbs lightly grazed the photos, just seeing their smiling faces did he start to relax. Knowing that they would always be with him at all times.

No matter where he went.

* * *

**I know Merope (Who I know is acting OC in this) was almost too quick to agree to Marine's words, however I think she knew that something would happen given her family's history**. **Hope you enjoyed it**


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